Emergency & Disaster Resources

If you or a loved one have been affected—or may be affected—by a hurricane, we can help. Review our comprehensive information and resources on emergency and disaster planning. We can also connect you to emergency shelters and other critical needs now, or other resources after the initial emergency has passed, such as temporary living assistance, medical equipment, medications, emotional support, or other challenges to your quality of life. Please call 1-800-344-4867 to connect with an MS Navigator, or via e-mail at generalmailbox@nmss.org.

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Following the release of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (H.R. 1), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is urging Congress to oppose the proposed elimination of the Medical Expense Deduction in the House bill.

“Eliminating the medical expense deduction would force many families affected by MS into financial devastation,” says President and CEO of the National MS Society Cyndi Zagieboylo. “MS is a chronic, expensive disease—with annual direct medical expenses averaging as much as five times more for people living with the disease compared to others. The Society sincerely urges Congress to maintain the medical expense deduction which has helped many people and families stay afloat and pay for critical health care costs and long-term services and supports.”

MS Activist Stephen Trattner of California shares, “My 2016 1040 itemized medical deductions totaled $75,000 for medical expenses not covered by my insurance. I am paying out-of-pocket nearly $75,000 a year for a full-time (24/7) in-home caregiver who helps me maintain a somewhat decent quality of life. Due to my MS, I need help in almost all daily activities including getting in and out of bed, bathing, getting dressed, preparing meals, going to the bathroom, and getting out of the house. I am wheelchair bound and can't walk or stand without assistance. As a retired rocket scientist having worked for 30 years for a nonprofit government-funded think tank I am reliant on my $75,000 a year pension, social security benefits, supplemented by having to use part of my meager savings to try to make ends meet. Removing the itemized medical deductions as proposed by the Republican tax bill would spell financial disaster for me.”

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are leading to better understanding and moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.